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Manchester United v Everton (2018-19)
| next = }} Manchester United v Everton was a match which took place at the Old Trafford on Saturday 27 October 2018. Manchester United edged past Everton to move to within five points of the Premier League's top four. Jose Mourinho's side were second best throughout Tuesday's 1-0 Champions League defeat by Juventus, but climbed up two places to eighth after victory at Old Trafford over the Toffees. The hosts went ahead through Paul Pogba's fortuitous strike - making a stuttering 26-step run-up to take a penalty that was saved by Jordan Pickford, then tucking home the rebound when it fell straight back to him. Pogba fed fellow Frenchman Anthony Martial to curl in a delightful, first-time finish from the edge of the box in the second half. Everton, whose three-game winning run came to an end, had chances of their own but Bernard hit the side netting after going round David de Gea and the Spain goalkeeper saved sharply from Richarlison's low strike. Midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson converted a penalty with 12 minutes remaining, but United held on to their advantage. Even at this early stage in the season, United cannot afford to drop many more points if they want to achieve their minimum target of Champions League qualification come May. After 10 games, they are nine points behind league leaders Liverpool, but were helped by fourth-placed Arsenal dropping points at Crystal Palace earlier on Sunday. There also seems to be a new drama surrounding the club with each passing week and much has been written about the manager's future, the relationship with his players, and the team bus arriving late to the ground for games - while a newspaper report suggested that some players are to be fined for not attending a sponsorship event. They put that aside against Everton, looking a slightly different prospect after striker Romelu Lukaku was dropped to the bench on the back of his eight-game goalless run. With Marcus Rashford - who had a goal ruled out for offside - deployed up front and industrious summer signing Fred in the middle of the park alongside Nemanja Matic, France World Cup winner Pogba was allowed to break forward and managed a goal and an assist. Pogba's liberated role also saw him have more touches on the ball (88) and more passes (67) than any other player on the pitch, but it was his misplaced pass that led to Everton's consolation. United showed plenty of energy and vigour, particularly the dangerous Martial, who caused the opposition backline problems all game. One piece of clever skill and a cross found Juan Mata, who headed straight at Pickford, and it was Martial who was tripped by Idrissa Gueye for Pogba's penalty. The former Monaco forward capped his excellent performance with a superb finish to score his fourth goal in three league games and he could have had more, but saw a thumping effort, plus a low strike in injury time, both kept out by Pickford. Mourinho said: "Martial coped well with his development process. He took quite a long time to understand what we want from him, quite a long time for his brain and body to be ready for how we want him to play. Match Details Martial |goals2 = Sigurðsson |stadium = Old Trafford, Manchester |attendance = 74,525 |referee = Jonathan Moss }} |valign="top"| |valign="top" width="50%"| |} See also *2018-19 Premier League: Match day 10 External links *Match report at BBC.co.uk Category:2018-19 Match Day info Category:Manchester United F.C. matches Category:Everton F.C. matches Category:2018–19 Premier League Matches